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A physician from the borders of Constantinople, whose name was Dr. Leo, was boasting about his knowledge in the streets of Damascus. He used to say that Islamic physicians were slaves to books, while he himself knew the truth through experience. One day he arrived at the court of Sultan Saladin, and he said proudly:

“Sultan! Your physicians feed the sick with herbs and recite prayers. I have come with science. I can prove that even poison can be made into medicine, if the dosage is right.”

The Sultan smiled and said: “Good! So you know the dosage?”

Dr. Leo stiffened his neck: “Yes! I can drink even snake venom drop by drop and survive.”

There was an uproar in the court. Some called him crazy, some called him a liar. But the Sultan quietly called his special servant and whispered in his ear for a while.

—

The next morning, there was a strange scene in the court. Two glass bowls were placed in front of the Sultan. Both contained a milky white liquid. The Sultan pointed to Dr. Liu and said:

“Oh doctor! You say that poison can be turned into medicine by quantity. Very good. These are two bowls. Both have exactly the same milk. But one does not have a drop of poison, the other has only a drop of poison. You have to distinguish between them.”

Dr. Liu laughed: “That is impossible, Sultan! The appearance is the same, the smell is the same, the color is the same. How can I tell the difference?”

The Sultan said gently: “You claimed to know the quantity. If you cannot distinguish between poison and milk, how will you determine how much poison will become medicine and how much death?”

Dr. Liu fell silent. His face turned pale.

Then the Sultan signaled to one of his trusted doctors. The doctor brought a goat. The Sultan gave the goat a bowl of milk to drink. The goat drank it and started to shake its tail with joy. Then the second cup was placed in front of another goat. It had barely put its mouth to it when in a few seconds it began to convulse and died.

The entire court was silent.

The Sultan looked at Dr. Liu: “Did you see? Your eyes deceived you, your experiences lied. Because you ignored the essence that gives sight to the eye. Islam did not forbid alcohol because it is poison, but because it poisons the intellect. And a person without intellect is a living corpse.”

Dr. Liu’s knees shook. He was trying to speak, but no sound came out.

The Sultan continued: “We have a principle: every intoxicant is forbidden. Because intoxication covers the intellect. And intellect is what distinguishes a human from an animal. You can measure the amount of poison, but who will measure the amount of intellect? How much alcohol is enough to destroy the intellect? One drop? Two drops? Or a whole cup?”

Dr. Liu lowered his eyes. He said softly: “I… I thought that knowledge is not only in books, but also in experiments. But today I found out that even experiments are meaningless unless wisdom is with them.”

The Sultan put his hand on his shoulder: “Liu, knowledge is not what makes you proud, knowledge is what teaches you humility. The great philosophers of Greece praised reason, but did not tell us how to protect it. Our religion teaches us that protecting reason is an obligation, so everything that injures reason is forbidden.”

Dr. Liu raised his head, his eyes moist: “Sultan, tell me more about this religion. I understand that this is not just a religion of restrictions, it is a religion of protection.”

There in the court, Dr. Liu recited the Kalima. Later, he became one of the famous physicians of Damascus, and often said:

“I read in Greece that intelligence is the greatest blessing. But when I came to Islam, I learned that preserving intelligence is also worship.”

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✦ The main message of this story ✦

Most of the things that Allah has forbidden are related to the protection of intelligence, life, wealth, lineage, and honor. Alcohol and intoxicants paralyze the intellect, and without intelligence, man becomes worse than an animal.

Have you ever thought that today’s modern media, social media, and aimless entertainment have also become a kind of intoxicant? Which deadlocks our intellect, eliminates the ability to think, and makes us insensitive.

Perhaps that is why the hadith says: “Every intoxicant is alcohol, and every alcohol is forbidden.”

Even today, this question is alive: What are we protecting our intellect from? 🕌✨